Television personality Ant Anstead has revealed he remains open to marriage despite two previous trips down the aisle, though he and longtime girlfriend Renée Zellweger are in no hurry to formalize their relationship.
"I still believe in marriage, but right now we're really happy," the 47-year-old Anstead told The Telegraph in an interview published on Friday, July 24. While he affectionately calls Zellweger, 57, "the missus," the couple appears satisfied with their current arrangement.
"We don't need the pressure of a label," Anstead told The Telegraph, explaining their approach to the relationship.
The automotive expert brings considerable experience to questions about matrimony. His first marriage to Louise Anstead lasted from 2005 to 2017, producing two children: Amelie, 22, and Archie, 19. He subsequently wed Christina Haack in 2018, with whom he shares 7-year-old son Hudson. That union ended in divorce in 2020.
Anstead and Zellweger's romance began on the set of Discovery Channel's Celebrity IOU: Joyride in 2021, where their mutual passion for automobiles sparked an immediate connection. The actress impressed Anstead with her hands-on mechanical skills and automotive knowledge.
"Renée is a hands-on car girl," Anstead told The Telegraph, describing her work on set. "She used a grinder to cut metal, she was welding, she was on the spanners."
A particularly memorable moment occurred when the Bridget Jones's Diary star demonstrated her proficiency with manual transmission vehicles during filming.
"A lot of people in America don't drive stick [manual cars] but, on the first day of filming, we needed to relocate a car for a scene," Anstead recalled to The Telegraph. "Ren jumps in, goes, 'I'll do it!', slams it into first, and off she goes. I'm like, 'Wow. This lady really knows her cars.'"
Anstead later discovered that Zellweger's automotive expertise stemmed from her father, a Swiss engineer who passed along his mechanical knowledge.
"She's a very real person. She's absolutely brilliant, the most grounded, humble person," Anstead told The Telegraph. "If there's a car job to be done at home, I say, 'We're doing this together. Put your overalls on, let's go.'"
The couple marked their five-year anniversary in April, transitioning from on-screen collaboration to a committed off-camera partnership. While Zellweger does not appear on Anstead's current television series Ant Anstead: Born Mechanic for Quest, she remains actively involved behind the scenes.
Anstead shared a touching example of her support when he was shopping for reclaimed gates on eBay. "Ren was looking over my shoulder without me realizing [while I shopped on eBay for a few reclaimed gates]. The next day I went to buy them and they were gone. I was mad," he told The Telegraph. "I arrived here and they were in the barn with a balloon on them for my birthday."
The former Wheelers and Dealers host explained that Zellweger had "secretly contacted my dad and arranged for him to collect them."
"As a gift, it knocks a pair of socks on the head," Anstead told The Telegraph.
For now, the couple appears content building their relationship on shared interests and mutual respect rather than rushing toward wedding vows, demonstrating that happiness does not always require traditional labels.
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Ava Hart
Ava Hart is a pop culture junkie and loves to share what's happening in Hollywood and what trends are taking the world by storm.
